The leaders of Syria's three main Christian churches issued a joint statement Saturday condemning "massacres targeting innocent civilians", following reports of mass killings of Alawite civilians by the security forces.
Britain-based war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said "532 Alawite civilians were killed in the coastal regions of Syria and the Latakia mountains by security forces and allied groups".
"In recent days, Syria has witnessed a dangerous escalation of violence, brutality, and killings, resulting in attacks on innocent civilians, including women and children," the joint statement said.
It was signed by the patriarchs of the Greek Orthodox, Syriac Orthodox and Melkite Greek Catholic Churches.
The reported killings on the Mediterranean coast -- the heartland of the Alawite religious minority -- was gripped by fighting between the country's new security forces and gunmen loyal to toppled president Bashar al-Assad.
Though the majority of Syria's Christians fled during the civil war that erupted in 2011, the city of Latakia, which has been hard hit by the latest violence, is home to a small Christian community.
"The Christian churches, while strongly condemning any act that threatens civil peace, denounce and condemn the massacres targeting innocent civilians, and call for an immediate end to these horrific acts, which stand in stark opposition to all human and moral values," the statement said.
"The churches also call for the swift creation of conditions conducive to achieving national reconciliation among the Syrian people."
They urged a "transition to a state that... lays the foundation for a society based on equal citizenship and genuine partnership, free from the logic of vengeance and exclusion".
The spiritual leader of Syria's Druze minority, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajri, also called for an end to the violence.
"The flames that burn under sectarian slogans will burn all of Syria and its people," he said in a statement.
Assad, himself an Alawite who sought to present himself as a protector of Syria's minorities, was ousted on December 8 in a lightning offensive led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
The group's leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has since been appointed Syria's interim president.
The new authorities have repeatedly promised an inclusive transition that protects the rights of religious minorities.
The Alawite heartland has nonetheless been gripped by fear of reprisals for the Assad family's brutal rule.
With AFP
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